Thursday, September 17, 2020

Day 187


Day 187, self quarantine:

Thursday, September 17, 2020

Ah, I finally feel like myself again.

And the nice thing is, the week is almost over.

Yesterday began with the heartbreaking news of a young Philadelphia musician who couldn’t bear the pain anymore. 

  https://m.facebook.com/major.vanwinkle?tsid=0.7217849144712818&source=result

I immediately reached out to Julie and Eric feeling completely distraught and they’re okay, still just trying to take life one day at a time and finding joy in the little things.

Eric recently wrote about it, in fact.

“Some people out there are suffering much worse than me, and the amount of strain that 2020 is putting on them is insurmountable. A stockpile of debts that have no ceilings. At its worst: no foreseeable relief. It makes my heart hurt.
I do think there is always a way forward and I have gratitude for it. The world is continually changing and we’re adapting quickly, becoming more malleable as the days pass us by. I miss seeing faces in the crowd and I miss performing for everyone. I know that when the day returns, I will have a whole new sense of gratitude for the peaks and valleys.”

Here’s the rest of the article.  I’m so damn proud of him.


So yesterday, I literally sat down with a pen and notebook and made a gratitude list.
I’ve read on more than one occasion that making a gratitude list is cathartic and if you can force yourself to just write five things a day, there can be incredible benefits.

Of course this doesn’t work for everyone but here’s a great article why and you can make your own decision.


Writing my first five entries was easy.

I’m grateful for my family.

I’m grateful we’re in good health.

I’m grateful for a strong support system during seven months of quarantine.

I’m grateful I was gainfully employed during this apocalypse and I have a young boss who is someone I respect more than most people I’ve met in my long, cranky life.

I’m grateful for music.

As a writer, that was too easy.  This morning’s entries will be a little more challenging but I suppose I can start with a nod to Gary’s cooking. 😜
I’m not sure if I will keep sharing here what I write every day or not.  The pro side to that is it will keep me disciplined to do it like these daily entries, the con side is it might be too personal, or, let’s be real, too boring.

Or maybe we can have a group therapy day here every so often where we all list what we’re grateful for.

We’ll see.

So for those of you who messaged me, yeah that quadruple fatal shooting was about six blocks from my house.  Life in downtown Philadelphia in 2020, what can I say. We have a President funded by the NRA who screams LAW AND ORDER and I wonder if anyone has compiled a list of how many fatal shootings there’s been since Dementia Boy took office but yeah, yeah, I will shut up about that asshat, I am so over him.

By the way, whenever he tweets LAW AND ORDER I reply CHEESE AND ONIONS!

Probably only a handful of people get it but it makes me happy as hell.

I am probably going to be arrested if Donald is re-elected but hey hey, at least I will have a lot of cool cell mates.

In other news, Jake now nuzzles Gary on command.  That’s pretty awesome and maybe that will make today’s gratitude list.

It should!

Ooh, I just heard on the news we might not be turning the clock back October 31!  Yes!  The government is worried we might already have too much stress.  

Ya think?

I am so down with that!
I agree darkness happening at 5:00 pm in six weeks isn’t going to help anyone’s mental health.

So that’s it for today.  I’m still on my first cup of coffee and need another jolt of caffeine before writing in the aforesaid gratitude journal.
This morning I will try and reach down deeper though it’s tempting to just write “hand cut french fries.”

Stay safe and be grateful, everyone.
Happy Thursday.
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